UN, US React To Killing Of Aid Workers In Nigeria By Boko Haram

The UN and US, have reacted to the killing of aid workers in Nigeria by Boko Haram terrorists.

NewsOne Nigeria reports that the United States Government in a statement released by the US Mission in Nigeria on Thursday, lamented the worsening security situation in the West African country even as it condemned the recent killing of some aid workers by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect in Nigeria.

This online news medium recalls the Boko Haram insurgents on Wednesday, released a video in which they killed five male aid workers who were kidnapped earlier. The aid workers were abducted while travelling in a route connecting the northern town of Monguno with Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

The aid workers murdered were understood to be members of staff of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency, Action Against Hunger, Rich International, and International Rescue Committee.

Reacting to the development, the US government noted that it is greatly saddened by the development which it said is due to the deteriorating security situation in the country. The US prayed to God to give the families of the killed aid workers the fortitude to bear the loss.

The statement reads: “We are deeply saddened by the execution of five humanitarian workers by terrorists in Northeast Nigeria. This comes against a backdrop of deteriorating conditions for millions of Nigerians.”

“We hope that their families and colleagues can take comfort in their selfless sacrifices on behalf of others. We will remember their dedication to others”, it added.

UN speaks of the killing of Aid Workers

Like the US, the United Nations (UN), lamented that several illegal checkpoints along the roads in the North East were the aid workers carry out their activities, make them easy targets for the terrorists. The UN called on the government to make the roads safer so as to make the work of the aid workers less risky, calling on the insurgents to stop targeting civilians and aid workers, expressing hope that such action won’t repeat itself again.

“Their safety and securing their safe release have been our highest priority since they were captured last month”, said UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon noted.

“These checkpoints disrupt the delivery of life-saving assistance and heighten the risks for civilians of being abducted, killed or injured, with aid workers increasingly being singled out.

“We have repeatedly called for such devastating fate and blatant violation of international humanitarian law to never happen again.”